Pressing iron having starch dispensing means



Jam 31, v1957 F. GIARRAFFA ETAL 3,300,884

PRESSING IRON HAVING STARCH DISPENSING MEANS Filed Oct. 23, 1955 345,2F/ae ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,300,884 Patented Jan. 31,1967 3,300,884 PRESSING IRON HAVING STARCH DISPENSING MEANS FrankGiarrafa, 3013 Brighton 6th St., and Jack L. Most, 3129 Coney IslandAve., both of Brooklyn, N.Y.

This invention relates generally to pressing irons, and is especiallyconcerned with a unique and highly improved construction for sprayingstarch in conjunction with a pressing iron.

As is well known to those versed in the art, the spraying f starchduring the ironing procedure is most inconvenient, presently requiringplacement of the iron in its holder, raising of the starch container anddispensing therefrom of the starch. While prior proposals have been madefor attaching a stare-h container to an iron, these proposed deviceshave been roughly complex in construction, unreliable in operation, andhave not found acceptance by the purchasing public.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention toprovide a highly improved pressing-iron construction wherein a containerof liquid starch under pressure may be neatly and convenientlyincorporated in the handle of the iron, completely concealed therein,and whereby the starch contents may be quickly and easily sprayed ordispensed, when and where desired, by the user of the iron withoutmovement of the users hand, and during the actual ironing procedure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pressingiron of the type described wherein starch may be quickly and easilyapplied to the garments being ironed, in a most expeditious manner,which substantially completely eliminates the time and effort previouslyrequired in applying liquid starch.

It is a further objec-t of the present invention to provide a pressingiron having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the precedingparagraphs, which is extremely durable in construction, reliable inoperation throughout a long useful life, neat and attractive inappearance, and which can be economically manufactured for sale at areasonable price.

AOther objects of the present invention will become apparent uponreading the following specification Iand referring to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will beexemplied in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view showing a pressing iron constructedin accordance wit-h the teachings of the present invention, andillustrating a container of pressurized liquid starch adapted forinsertion in the pressing iron; and

FIGURE 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view faken generally alongthe line 2-2 of FIGURE l, illustrating the starch container in operativeassociation with the pressing iron.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically toFIGURE l thereof, a pressing iron is there generally designated 10, andthe liquid-starch container is generally designated 11.

The pressing iron includes 'an elongate body or base 12, which may begenerally conventional, of a forwardly and rearwardly elongateconfiguration and having a generally at bottom for pressing engagementwith a garment.

Upstanding from the upper side of the body 12, 'at for-4 wardly andrearwardly spaced locations therealong, are a rearward support 13, and aforward support 14. The forward and rearward supports 14 'and 13 may beof hollow, plastic or other suitable insulating material, and have theirlower ends firmly anchored to the body 12, by any suitable means.

ExtendingA longitudinally of the body 12, in spaced relation thereover,is a generally hollow, tubular handgrip 15 having its forward end 16fixed to the front upstanding support 14, and its rearward end 17 fixedto the upstanding rear support 13. In practice, the handgrip 15, andupstanding supports 13 and 14 may be integrally formed, as by molding,say of suitable plastic material.

The elongate handgrip 15 may be of a generally tubular, interiorlyhollow construction, say having a rear open end, as at 18 in FIGURE 2.The rear-end opening 18 may continue forward in a generally cylindricalinterior formation, as at 19, being closed to the rear support 13, as bya wall 20. The forward support 14 may open to the front interior regionof the hollow 19, and a vertically elongate opening or slot 21 may beformed in the upper front region of forward support 14 in a generalalignment with the cylindrical hollow 19.

Interiorly of the handgrip 15, in the forward region of hollow 19,adjacent to but spaced rearwardly from the front handgrip end 16, thereis provided an internal shoulder 23, which may depend from the upperwall of the handgrip. A bracket or seat 24 projects forwardly from thelower end of the shoulder 23 toward but terminating short of the fronthandgrip end wall 16. Spaced over the seat 24, the upper wall of thehandgrip 19 is cut away, as at 25, defining a thru opening generallyover the forward support 14. The opening 25 extends rearwardly to forman upwardly facing recess 26 in the top wall of the handgrip 15extending rearwardly beyond the depending internal shoulder or abutment23.

Received in the top wall opening 25 of lthe ihandgrip 15 is 'a lever,generally designated 28, which may be of generally angulateconfiguration, including a forward depending arm 29, and an arm 30extending generally rearward from the upper end of arm 29. The forwardarm 29 depends into the forward region of the handgrip 15 between theshoulder 23 and forward end wall 16 of the handgrip, while Ithe arm 30extends rearwardly over and beyond the shoulder 23, :being received inthe recess 26 and there pivotally mounted, as by a laterally extendingpin 31 passing through the arm 30 and into the handgrip 15 on oppositesides of the recess 26.

Thus, the lever 28 is swingable about the axis of pin 31. A resilientelement or spring 32 may be interposed in compressed relation betweenthe underside of arm 30 and the upper side of seat 24 to urge the lever28 in its clockwise direction of swinging movement, as seen in FIGURE 2.The depending arm 29 may be provided with an oset portion or upwardlyfacing shoulder 33 engageable with the interior top wall of handgrip 15to limit clockwise swinging movement of the lever. By manual actuation,as by depression in the direction of arrow 34, the lever 28 may be swungfrom its solid-line position of FIGURE 2, to the dot-and-dash outlineposition shown therein.

The container 11 may include a generally cylindrical body 36 adapted forfrictional engagement in the handgrip hollow 19 through the rear endopening 18. At one end of the cylindrical container body 36 may beprovided a dispensing nozzle 37 of t-he conventional type adapted todispense upon angular deflection out of alignment with the body 36, sayto the phantom position shown in FIG- URE 2. The container 11 itself maythus be conventional, and is sized for insertion into the handgriphollow 19 to a stop or limiting position in engagement with the shoulder23, with the container body 36 just received in the opening 18. In thiscondition, the nozzle 37 has its distal end projecting through the slotat 21, normally at an upper region of the slot. The nozzle 37, when thecontainer 11 is inserted in the handgrip 15, extends across the path ofmovement of the lower end of depending lever arm 29, so that movement ofthe lever 28 effects downward deection of the nozzle 37 to t-he phantomposi-tion shown in FIGURE 2. That is, the nozzle 37 moves along the slot21. In the deflected phantom position of nozzle 37, liquid starch issprayed, as at 39, exteriorly of the pressing iron for application to agarment being pressed. Of course, this operation may be convenientlyactua-ted by a users finger or thumb depressing the lever 28; and, uponrelease of the lever the nozzle 37 returns to its undeected closedcondition in the upper region of slot 21. Obviously, this sprayapplication may be quickly, easily and conveniently applied, even duringt-he pressing operation or motion of the user, -to eiect substantialsavings in time and effort.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, itis understood that certain changes and modifications may be made withinthe spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pressing iron comprising a body having its underside adapted forpressing engagement with a garment, support means upstanding from saidbody, an elongate handgrip spaced over said body and carried by saidsupport means, said handgrip being interiorly hollow and having anopening at one end, a container of pressurized starch in said hollow ofsaid handgrip, a dispensing nozzle on said container extending spacedlythrough the opening of said handgrip and deiiectable to spray starchexteriorly of said handgrip, and hand-actuable operating means mountedon said handgrip for movement into and out of deecting engagement withsaid nozzle.

2. A pressing iron according to claim 1, said container being removablyengaged through the other end of said handgrip.

3. A pressing iron according to claim 1, said operating means comprisinga lever pivotally mounted on said handgrip having one end interiorly ofsaid handgrip for engagement with the nozzle and extending exteriorly ofsaid handgrip for manual engagement by an operator.

4. A pressing iron comprising an elongate body having its undersurfaceadapted for pressing engagement with a garment, support means upstandingfrom said body at longitudinally spaced locations therealong, anelongate tubular handgrip extending longitudinally of and spaced oversaid body and carried by said support means, said handgrip having oneend open and having a slot at its other end, a shoulder in said handgripadjacent to and spaced from said other end thereof, a container ofpressurized starch removably inserted in said handgrip through said openend into abutting engagement with said shoulder, a dispensing nozzle onsaid container extending spaeedly through said slot and deectable toemit starch exteriorly of said handgrip, and hand-actuable operatingmeans on said handgrip for movement into and out of deflectingengagement with said nozzle.

5. A pressing iron according to claim 4, said operating means comprisinga lever pivotally mounted on said handgrip extending interiorly thereoffor engagement with said nozzle and exteriorly of said handgrip formanual engage-r ment'by an operator, and resilient means in saidhandgrip engaging said lever to urge the latter toward its position ofmovement out of deecting engagement with said nozzle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS PATRICK D.LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

1. A PRESSING IRON COMPRISING A BODY HAVING ITS UNDERSIDE ADAPTED FORPRESSING ENGAGEMENT WITH A GARMENT, SUPPORT MEANS UPSTANDING FROM SAIDBODY, AN ELONGATE HANDGRIP SPACED OVER SAID BODY AND CARRIED BY SAIDSUPPORT MEANS, SAID HANDGRIP BEING INTERIORLY HOLLOW AND HAVING ANOPENING AT ONE END, A CONTAINER OF PRESSURIZED STARCH IN SAID HOLLOW OFSAID HANDGRIP, A DISPENSING NOZZLE ON SAID CONTAINER EXTENDING SPACEDLYTHROUGH THE OPENING OF SAID HANDGRIP AND DEFLECTABLE TO SPRAY STARCHEXTERIORLY OF SAID HANDGRIP, AND HAND-ACTUABLE OPERATING MEANS MOUNTEDON SAID HANDGRIP FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF DEFLECTING ENGAGEMENT WITHSAID NOZZLE.